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Geumdangsa Temple – 금당사 (Jinan, Jeollabuk-do)
Temple History Geumdangsa Temple is located in Jinan, Jeollabuk-do near the entrance of Maisan Provincial Park. In fact, just a little up the paved pathway about six hundred metres past Geumdangsa Temple, you’ll come to the famed Tapsa Temple. Both temples are housed within the park grounds of Maisan Provincial Park. Geumdangsa Temple means “Golden Hall Temple” in English, and it has two differing stories as to when it was first established. According to one story, Geumdangsa Temple was first established in 814 A.D. by the Chinese monk Hyegam. Another story relates how in 650 A.D. the monk Muri came to the Baekje Kingdom (18 B.C. – 660 A.D.) from…
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Tapsa Temple – 탑사 (Jinan, Jeollabuk-do)
Temple History Tapsa Temple, which is located in Jinan, Jeollabuk-do, means “Pagoda Temple,” in English. The story of Tapsa Temple begins with the enigmatic layman Lee Gap Yong (1860-1957). Lee first came to Mt. Maisan (687 m), or “Horse Ear Mountain,” in English, at the age of 25. And for the next thirty years, Lee not only spent time meditating, but he single-handedly built one hundred and eight spherical stone pagodas. Of the one hundred and eight pagodas that were originally constructed, eighty of these pagodas still stand to this day at Tapsa Temple. Much later in life, Lee Gap Yong became an ordained monk. Currently, Tapsa Temple joined the…